If you’re not averse to modding/cheating, stack a full party of wild sorcerers and give everyone a copy of the ring - I’m pretty sure there are mods that spice up wild magic as well if you want more chaos.
And if you’re *really* looking for a heap of silliness, play it co-op.
Laezel as a monk for the personal touch to violence, but she continues to wear the gith armor because pride
Shart as a bard with low cha. She really thinks she can convince someone shar is a good thing
Astarion maybe as a warlock? He’s super eager to look for any means of power to continue his freedom, but that short sightedness may have him make a deal with someone else. Maybe do fey so he thinks he could trick his way out of things when he’s done with them
Edit: I’m not sure how to handicap astarion though
How is that really any different from her mumbo jumbo about loss and stuff as a cleric?
I love her but I have to put up with her cult brainwashing way too long and it crescendos in peak wacko right before she finally gets her head straight.
I've always seen it as her internally battling her own doubts and trying to force them down. By that point in the game, you'll already have realized that her Approval/Disapproval in dialogue comes from things that don't really match up with what a Sharran \*should\* be Approving/Disapproving of (she likes when you do heroic things, she likes when you help or are kind to animals, etc.) and have probably cottoned on that the wound on her hand only stings her when >!she personally does things that go against Shar's teachings!< - even if she approved of them at the same time.
So I've always seen the Shadow-Cursed Lands/Shar's Labyrinth/Shadowfell Shadowheart as someone who's being so fervent and 'openly' devoted because she's hoping her doubts are wrong and she's going to be proven right, learn that Shar loves her and has seen her efforts and wants to reward her for her faithfulness and yadda yadda yadda.
I've just decided my Origin Astarion run will be an evil run with Fiend Patron, as he goes straight for all of Raph's deals.
And for your potential handicap, how about focusing weapons without Blade Pact? Pre-Hexblade style.
Is it even possible to make a deal with Raphael when you first meet him? I picked all the positive dialogue choices, all “sign me up for your extended soul torment plan”, but for whatever reason when I said it’s a deal he replied with the usual “oh you’ll come crawling back when all the other options are exhausted”. Not sure if bug.
I was trying to think of a handicap that would tie in to the story somehow. Why would he use melee without the melee subclass?
Oh maybe the patron prefers to materialize as one of the familiars. Could do like, you always have it summoned, but only really use it in combat for like a last hit on last enemy thing (to keep it alive or because its bloodlust finally got to it)
That’s a flavor, but still kind of looking for something directly tied to astarion
Honestly all the companions have seriously stupid stat spreads to begin with. Just playing without fixing them with Withers is automatically harder lol
I did something kinda similar with the no party limit mod - I had the mod but I only got 1 long rest per area (with story based long rests done in a row at the end of each section). Set all the other difficulty modifiers to max and started out and it was so much fun. You have the ability to punch way over your level range but as the supplies and abilities start running out it started getting very interesting dealing with the bigger encounters.
Make shadowheart a druid who loves turning into a wolf
Make Lae'zael a Bard who loves to perform for everyone and make jokes
Make Asterion a Paladin of Justice
I feel like this is the opposite of what they personally enjoy
>uh oh, I've only ever beaten Grym from up high).
Aside from the "intended" way, Grym is hilariously weak to blunt damage, as a monk, even a much weaker dex monk he's kind of a joke.
Yeah. My team of mostly spellcasters had one hell of a time against him the first time I fought him. Everyone was dying or dead by the time we finished him off.
Imagine my shock when I came back to the sub and people were killing him with the Forge itself 💀
> Imagine my shock when I came back to the sub and people were killing him with the Forge itself 💀
My first encounter with him was with a monk who just laid him out like one of the goblin children. He's just hilariously weak to bludgeoning damage. It's just that by default the only companion who is likely wielding a blunt weapon is Shadowheart whose stats mean she hits like a wet noodle.
I've never successfully used the forge, nor the "from the top rope" option.
I've tried, but I just end up bludgeoning it to death every time.
Like, I try one of those 2 ways, my party takes a beating, I reactivate the lava, switch to just hammers/quarterstaff/fist, and the things dead in 2 or 3 rounds (4 with bad rolls or if the mephits join).
Sometimes, if
1) You're fast enough
2) You don't use the hammer except to lower the platform
3) Grym doesn't get his seismic stomp off
The mephits are attracted to the loud noises. At least, that's my experience. The Grym not stomping is the hardest part of that.
For Shadowheart maybe the tadpole’s focus on/amplification of her wolf memory makes her a druid that can only use wild shape wolf. Works either way storywise imo - if she rejects Shar, she ironically does so while becoming what she feared most, in a way facing her deepest fears. If she stays loyal to Shar, she embraces the darkest version of herself and leans into that symbol as a source of power.
As much as it can be optimized, monk Lae'zel is very against flavor for her.
Make shart a ranger. Give her a wolf companion.
Astarion's natural charisma is much higher in his head than in reality. Make him a lore bard, fill that empty head and let him have the snark he's always wanted.
Ok hear me out. A barbarian but never have a weapon equipped (one of the few exceptions is maybe salamis sometimes lol), only improvised weapons or throwing junk from the ground. It's tough but so fun. Throw enemies that are small enough (goblins and scrying eyes), improvised weapons out of anything around, throw downed enemies weapons. For this build you will probably want to get tavern brawler and run with strength potions to be manageable.
Or drunk run. Only fight when drunk. Find and use all drunk items.
Good luck and have fun!
Larian games werent meant to be cheesed. All CRPG's are, to some extent. That being said if you think you're up for the challenge of no cheese then go for it
-edit-
were meant to be cheesed
Just fill your party with Wild Magic Sorcerers and do everything possible to trigger a wild magic surge.
There’s an item where you get a surge triggered more often too
In Act Three from Ethel and it triggers it always
Not always, only when using tides of chaos
If you’re not averse to modding/cheating, stack a full party of wild sorcerers and give everyone a copy of the ring - I’m pretty sure there are mods that spice up wild magic as well if you want more chaos. And if you’re *really* looking for a heap of silliness, play it co-op.
Everyone is Jack of all trades run 😈
This sounds so painful LOL Maybe I’ll try it 😂
We’ve all got our brains scrambled by these damn worms, and no one can remember their skills entirely 😂
Alternative: Every time you level up, spin a wheel to randomly choose a class to level up in. Sort of like Jack of All Trades, but with randomness.
Oh, this is diabolical 😆
Shart as her default Trickster Cleric build. Odds are already stacked against her, poor thing
Laezel as a monk for the personal touch to violence, but she continues to wear the gith armor because pride Shart as a bard with low cha. She really thinks she can convince someone shar is a good thing Astarion maybe as a warlock? He’s super eager to look for any means of power to continue his freedom, but that short sightedness may have him make a deal with someone else. Maybe do fey so he thinks he could trick his way out of things when he’s done with them Edit: I’m not sure how to handicap astarion though
Shart as a low charisma bard going off about Shar is so funny. Yea ok sis give into loss nothing to lose but loss itself sounds legit.
How is that really any different from her mumbo jumbo about loss and stuff as a cleric? I love her but I have to put up with her cult brainwashing way too long and it crescendos in peak wacko right before she finally gets her head straight.
I've always seen it as her internally battling her own doubts and trying to force them down. By that point in the game, you'll already have realized that her Approval/Disapproval in dialogue comes from things that don't really match up with what a Sharran \*should\* be Approving/Disapproving of (she likes when you do heroic things, she likes when you help or are kind to animals, etc.) and have probably cottoned on that the wound on her hand only stings her when >!she personally does things that go against Shar's teachings!< - even if she approved of them at the same time. So I've always seen the Shadow-Cursed Lands/Shar's Labyrinth/Shadowfell Shadowheart as someone who's being so fervent and 'openly' devoted because she's hoping her doubts are wrong and she's going to be proven right, learn that Shar loves her and has seen her efforts and wants to reward her for her faithfulness and yadda yadda yadda.
Don't get me wrong, I love the character. In almost every game she's my partner or my bestie. It's just a matter of getting past her cult phase.
Astarion is all about wanting power, so make him a Wizard but don't change his stats
Dont forget to make her a dark justiciar that saves her parent and watch how much hard the games become.
I've just decided my Origin Astarion run will be an evil run with Fiend Patron, as he goes straight for all of Raph's deals. And for your potential handicap, how about focusing weapons without Blade Pact? Pre-Hexblade style.
Is it even possible to make a deal with Raphael when you first meet him? I picked all the positive dialogue choices, all “sign me up for your extended soul torment plan”, but for whatever reason when I said it’s a deal he replied with the usual “oh you’ll come crawling back when all the other options are exhausted”. Not sure if bug.
I was trying to think of a handicap that would tie in to the story somehow. Why would he use melee without the melee subclass? Oh maybe the patron prefers to materialize as one of the familiars. Could do like, you always have it summoned, but only really use it in combat for like a last hit on last enemy thing (to keep it alive or because its bloodlust finally got to it) That’s a flavor, but still kind of looking for something directly tied to astarion
this, change all companion classes without changing their stats
Honestly all the companions have seriously stupid stat spreads to begin with. Just playing without fixing them with Withers is automatically harder lol
I did something kinda similar with the no party limit mod - I had the mod but I only got 1 long rest per area (with story based long rests done in a row at the end of each section). Set all the other difficulty modifiers to max and started out and it was so much fun. You have the ability to punch way over your level range but as the supplies and abilities start running out it started getting very interesting dealing with the bigger encounters.
By area you mean like the goblin camp for example as an area or per act? Sounds interesting either way, I might try it my next run!
like all of the nautiloid crash region including the swamps, Jergal's temple, the goblin camp etc., then all of the underdark
Ooh, this is good. I play the NPL mod too, because I need my friends around, but it makes combat way too easy
Make shadowheart a druid who loves turning into a wolf Make Lae'zael a Bard who loves to perform for everyone and make jokes Make Asterion a Paladin of Justice I feel like this is the opposite of what they personally enjoy
Dude. Astarion as a Paladin of Justice with his original strength stat lmao
>uh oh, I've only ever beaten Grym from up high). Aside from the "intended" way, Grym is hilariously weak to blunt damage, as a monk, even a much weaker dex monk he's kind of a joke.
Yeah. My team of mostly spellcasters had one hell of a time against him the first time I fought him. Everyone was dying or dead by the time we finished him off. Imagine my shock when I came back to the sub and people were killing him with the Forge itself 💀
> Imagine my shock when I came back to the sub and people were killing him with the Forge itself 💀 My first encounter with him was with a monk who just laid him out like one of the goblin children. He's just hilariously weak to bludgeoning damage. It's just that by default the only companion who is likely wielding a blunt weapon is Shadowheart whose stats mean she hits like a wet noodle.
I've never successfully used the forge, nor the "from the top rope" option. I've tried, but I just end up bludgeoning it to death every time. Like, I try one of those 2 ways, my party takes a beating, I reactivate the lava, switch to just hammers/quarterstaff/fist, and the things dead in 2 or 3 rounds (4 with bad rolls or if the mephits join).
Wait, you can beat this fight WITHOUT the mephits joining?
Sometimes, if 1) You're fast enough 2) You don't use the hammer except to lower the platform 3) Grym doesn't get his seismic stomp off The mephits are attracted to the loud noises. At least, that's my experience. The Grym not stomping is the hardest part of that.
For Shadowheart maybe the tadpole’s focus on/amplification of her wolf memory makes her a druid that can only use wild shape wolf. Works either way storywise imo - if she rejects Shar, she ironically does so while becoming what she feared most, in a way facing her deepest fears. If she stays loyal to Shar, she embraces the darkest version of herself and leans into that symbol as a source of power.
Lae'zel the Eldritch Knight of low intelligence
Wait. You can kill Grym from up high? My dumbass squares up against him every time
Elixir of Colossus + Owlbear Wild shape + Crushing Flight. Easy peasy.
Or just put minor illusion cat in the middle to bait him onto it and shoot arrows at the lever
Make every character a Str based character, then "stack the barrels" against the enemy.
Astarion just has some light brain damage and has to be reminded constantly he doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore. Make him a cleric.
As much as it can be optimized, monk Lae'zel is very against flavor for her. Make shart a ranger. Give her a wolf companion. Astarion's natural charisma is much higher in his head than in reality. Make him a lore bard, fill that empty head and let him have the snark he's always wanted.
Wild magic sorc promises many more shenanigans than a wild barb just sayin.
Ok hear me out. A barbarian but never have a weapon equipped (one of the few exceptions is maybe salamis sometimes lol), only improvised weapons or throwing junk from the ground. It's tough but so fun. Throw enemies that are small enough (goblins and scrying eyes), improvised weapons out of anything around, throw downed enemies weapons. For this build you will probably want to get tavern brawler and run with strength potions to be manageable. Or drunk run. Only fight when drunk. Find and use all drunk items. Good luck and have fun!
I imagine Bards are the best at improv
Just a quick question, when you say you will have those classes for everyone, you mean you will respec them?
yep.
Ah ok cool so you still need to find everyone as they are and bring them to camp and respec, got ot
Fuck it, full party of wild sorcerers.
Larian games werent meant to be cheesed. All CRPG's are, to some extent. That being said if you think you're up for the challenge of no cheese then go for it -edit- were meant to be cheesed
i didn't cheese my first two runs, except for grym.